Electrical connectors provide communicative interfaces between electrical components where power and/or signals may be transmitted therethrough. For example, the electrical connectors may be used within telecommunication equipment, servers, and data storage or transport devices. Typically, electrical connectors are used in environments, such as in offices or homes, where the connectors are not subjected to constant shock, vibration, and/or extreme temperatures. However, in some applications, such as aerospace or military equipment, the electrical connector must be configured to withstand certain conditions and still effectively transmit power and/or data signals.
In some connector arrangements, the mating contacts have a reverse gender construction. For example, in one connector each pin contact is secured in a cylindrical insulator or insert. In the mating connector, each hollow tubular socket is constructed such that when the connectors are brought together or engaged, each tubular socket is inserted into a corresponding insert, with each tubular socket simultaneously receiving a corresponding pin to establish an electrical connection therebetween. Moreover, it is often desirable to reduce the size of the connectors. In such connector arrangements, sometimes referred to as having a “high density layout”, the center-to-center distance between adjacent pins may be so small that there is no room for conventional contact retention features (i.e., molded retention fingers or a retention clip). As a result, these connectors typically require encapsulation of contacts and are configured such that it is not possible to replace a “bad” contact pin. That is, if a pin contact becomes inoperable, the entire connector must be replaced, which is costly, time-consuming and wasteful.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved connectors employing reverse-gender contacts that do not suffer from these drawbacks.